06 November 2014

My Thoughts on The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Official Main Trailer

Earlier, Warner Bros. released the official trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The trailer opens somberly with numerous characters addressing Thorin, reminding him of the promises he has made and the terror he has unleashed. We do not see Smaug in this trailer, which leads me to believe his defeat will occur sometime in the first part of the movie, leaving the majority of the film to focus on the titular battle as everyone seeks to defend what they have reclaimed.

We get a quick glimpse of Saruman ("leave Sauron to me") which is probably my favourite part of the trailer. While those who have already read Tolkien's books or seen Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy know that Saruman is working with the Dark Lord, I cannot wait to see more of the White Council and Saruman's growing betrayal of his Order play out on the big screen. Of all the material that's been added, whether it be from the appendices or made up entirely, this is the one I am most interested in. (Sometimes I wish they'd filmed The Hobbit first, just to make the betrayal all the more shocking to moviegoers who have not read any of the books.)

Of course, we also get a glimpse into the Kili/Tauriel romance; he is seen giving her what is presumably his runestone, and later in the trailer we see her tearfully looking up from what appears to be Kili's body. I stand by my belief that it is an unnecessary love story, but at the same time, it will certainly add weight to his death.

As we've come to expect from Jackson and his team, the Battle of the Five Armies is going to be epic – and given that he's had 10 years to improve his skills, I'll wager that this battle will be his most impressive one yet. Between this and the White Council, you can bet I'll be giving this film a chance next month!